APARENTMENT: Where Marble Speaks and Time is Sculpted
- Sean Dean
- Nov 17
- 3 min read
In the quiet rhythm of Barcelona's streets, a studio hums with a strange, magnetic energy. Inside, marble blocks sit alongside iron vessels, ceramic forms rest next to wooden prototypes, each one seeming to hold its own quiet history. This is APARENTMENT, the design atelier of Josep Vila Capdevila, a place where materiality is not just medium but narrative, and every object carries a memory of its making.
Josep's work is born from a fascination with raw matter and poetic contradiction. Marble, in his hands, is no longer just stone; it becomes a story. In the Rare Stones Collection, triangles of yellow Lesbos marble twist like geometry caught mid-motion. The Lesbos Side Table, formed by two intertwining marble triangles, commands attention with its bold color while maintaining a clean, balanced sophistication. It speaks of imperfection as virtue, of strength tempered by subtlety. Functional yet quietly monumental, it becomes an invitation to linger and observe.
The studio's philosophy, which Josep calls "Cold Mediterranean", is evident in every detail. It is a vision where warmth meets rationality, where the sunlit lyricism of the Mediterranean fuses with minimalist restraint. Here, a table is not just a table, but a sculptural exercise in proportion and light, or a reflection of human presence and natural material. In the Vestiges Collection, side tables and lamps shaped entirely from exclusive Spanish marble, edges intentionally fractured and brushed to reveal history in the stone. Each lamp or table seems to hold the trace of time itself, a meditation on memory, decay, and endurance.
When Clara Kong joined APARENTMENT in 2025, the studio entered a new chapter. Where Josep pushes materials to their expressive limits, Clara brings a strategic lens, shaping a vision that honors the poetry of the studio while positioning it for growth and dialogue with the world. Together, they inhabit a space between the experimental and the functional, where sculptural daring meets quiet clarity. The Japan Collection, for instance, translates the minimalist serenity of traditional low tables into contemporary form. The Coffee Table embodies geometry and calm, while the Cube Side Table subtly challenges convention, taller than expected yet harmoniously balanced, a contemporary nod to heritage.
Walking through APARENTMENT's studio, one sees not just furniture but process, reflection, and reinvention. The Marbleous Collection, with its mirrors, wine holders, and sculptural bricks, is a testament to this interplay. The Marblelous Mirror, featured in Wallpaper for Milan's Salone del Mobile, transforms marble into reflection, into presence, into something that feels almost alive. The Brique, a Carrara marble block inspired by traditional Spanish construction, is at once utilitarian and metaphorical, grounding the studio's conceptual rigor in tactile reality. Even the Stairs Candelabrum embodies this delicate tension between function and poetry, with its polished marble steps ascending to brass candle holders.
APARENTMENT's creations carry a subtle dialogue between brutality and refinement. The FIT Table Collection exemplifies this: five marble blocks assembled like a puzzle, geometrically precise yet somehow fluid, a study in form that is rigorous and poetic simultaneously. Every curve, every bevel, every patina is intentional, the result of painstaking experimentation and attention to the way light, shadow, and touch meet.
The studio has garnered international attention, from AD Magazine to Marie Claire Italia , Neo2 , and Design Daily in Australia. Yet within these accolades, the core remains local and tactile: materials sourced in Spain, pieces shaped by local hands, and ideas forged in the intimate dialogue between two founders who see furniture not as decoration but as embodied thought. Visitors leave the studio not just impressed, but unsettled in a good way, by the quiet force of objects that feel older than their age, heavier than their weight, and more expressive than their form.
In APARENTMENT, design is a conversation with material, history, and the human hand. Marble becomes narrative, iron becomes gesture and wood becomes memory. There is no separation between function and art, between craft and philosophy. Every object holds a story, and together, they form a silent and timeless architecture of thought. This is Cold Mediterranean: a space where objects are not simply used, but experienced, understood, and felt.
Special thanks to APARENTMENT, Josep Vila Capdevila, and Clara Kong for welcoming Domènech Concept into their world and sharing insight into their work. And thank you to Aura for facilitating this conversation.
It's been a pleasure to explore their universe and translate a part of it into this story.
Visit APARENTMENT's website: https://www.aparentment.com
Follow APARENTMENT on Instagram: @aparentment
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